


A Glimpse At What Could Be

by afteriwake



Series: Unexpected Legacies [6]
Category: Arthurian Mythology, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-26 13:56:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5007316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock gets his boon from the King and Queen of Faeries for his help taking care of the rogue Fae: a glimpse at what his future holds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Glimpse At What Could Be

**Author's Note:**

> So this is just a really short one-shot for the Spook Me 2015 Ficathon, inspired by [Immortal Fairy](http://s24.postimg.org/iljq26c9h/Dark_Faerie2.jpg) by Anne Stokes. It's set immediately after "Thwarting A Potential Uprising" so it's important to read that one. Also, even though this does mention Sherlock/Molly (she's the "chosen mate" that Raedself talks about) I didn't tag it as a Sherlolly story since it's not a huge part of the story. The next one will definitely have much more Sherlolly stuff to it, though!

He had expected opulence beyond belief. After all, everything that Merlin had told him about the fae as they had made their way to the closest wooded area nearby the nightclub had indicated that they enjoyed the finest things. But what he saw had amazed him. There were jewels he could not name everywhere. The surfaces were covered in gold and silver, and the craftsmanship he saw of everything was beyond exquisite. He was in awe of it all, to an extent. But he still managed to keep himself in check as he stood in front of the two most ethereal beings he had ever laid eyes on. He knew that they were wearing glamours because he couldn’t lay eyes on their true brilliance, but they were still the most brilliant beings he had ever seen.

The queen beckoned him forward. “Thank you for your assistance, William,” she said, her voice very light and musical, as sweet sounding on his ears as the most beautiful violin concerto. “Merlin has had many great things to say about you, and we have been watching you most carefully.”

Unsure of what else to do, Sherlock inclined slightly at the waist, bowing towards her. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Your future, and that of your chosen mate, is shrouded in veils,” she said. “But we have one among us who can part some of those veils for you and give you a glimpse, give you some of the information you so crave, as a boon for your assistance in dealing with our errant kin.”

He straightened, his eyes just slightly wide. He hadn’t really mentioned that he wanted information, but it would help settle things in his mind. He was in the middle of a vast game with an opponent who, aside from one meeting, he knew nothing about. Information would be a great help at trying to piece together what advantages he might have, if any, in this game he found himself in. He inclined his head toward the queen. “Thank you.”

She raised her hands and clapped, and a faerie with dark hair, tinged with blue and lavender came forward. Her shoulders and upper arms were covered in tattoos of swirls, and she had two silver bands, one on each upper arm. She wore fingerless leather gloves that came up to her elbow and a black dress that appeared to be made out of leather as well, though it flowed as though it was of silk. “Raedself,” the queen said. “We have a guest in need of your counsel.”

Raedself nodded and then gave Sherlock a small smile. “Follow me, please,” she said, her voice throaty and warm. 

Sherlock looked to Merlin , who nodded, and then turned and followed the faerie away from the throne room. “You don’t seem like the other faeries of the court,” he said after a moment.

“I’m not,” she replied simply. “I am a traitor among my people. I was dark fae, until I fell in love with a light fae named Oren. I expected to be shunned by the light fae, to be mocked and to be hated, but aside from a few I have been embraced, as has my gift of lifting the veils that cover the future of some of those in this kingdom.”

“Love can make anyone do extraordinary things,” he remarked.

She turned and gave him a smile. “Yes, it can. And the queen is a kind ruler, much better than the ruler of my people. I would gladly follow her into battle.” She turned back around and then sank into silence as they went to a door and down a long flight of stairs into a darkened cavern lit by what appeared to be a violet moon in the sky. He wasn’t sure he was in his own realm anymore, to be honest, but he wasn’t afraid. There was a pool there, and Raedself went around it until she was facing Sherlock and knelt down in front of it. “The bodies of the greatest seers are in this pool, where their souls linger. The more powerful a seer is the more of their combined power she can draw upon and the more veils she can lift. And as I’m quite powerful, I’m hoping I can lift quite a few.”

She put a hand over the water, and Sherlock watched as the cavern began to glow. He could see trees behind Raedself, and soon blue glowing butterflies began to emerge around her. After a moment her wings came out, wings that were electric blue and dark blue and shades of purple and edged with black. After a moment he saw a skeleton start to come up to her hand. “What do you see?” he asked.

“You have a long journey ahead of you, but you will not be on it alone,” she said, her voice multitonal, as though there were now many women speaking, all filtered through her. “You and your chosen mate are tied together throughout it, through ups and down, but your faith in each other will never waiver. You are connected by more than the spell that gave her the spirit of your spirit, the breath of your life. You were connected long before that. It was writ among the heavens. And you will have family by your side. Not just your ancestor, but one you expected not to hear from ever again, one who has powers of his own.”

He blinked. “Do you mean my brother?”

Raedself did not acknowledge him, instead looking down at the skeleton in the pool. “Your enemy is strong, but you will gain another ally. Someone stronger than you, someone on par with your ancestor. There is an event that will cause them to come from the shadows, to pledge their allegiance to family.’ There was a pause. “Your enemy will get bolder. The attacks will get more direct, will be more personal. You will need to keep those you care for close, or else…”

The water turned a sickly green and Raedself withdrew her hand sharply and landed on her arse with a thump, her eyes wide. Sherlock went around to her. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“Someone close to you is in danger,” she said, looking up at him, her voice back to normal. “I don’t know who, I don’t know when, but someone…someone is marked for death. It _might_ be averted, but…”

He nodded. “Thank you,’ he said quietly. He offered her his hand and she took it, giving him the one that had been the one over the pond, and it was as cold as ice. Once she was standing she cradled her hand. “Do you need anything?”

She shook her head. “I just need time to clear my head.” She moved around him and headed back towards the stone steps that they had descended from and after a moment he followed. There was a lot to consider. Not a lot of concrete information, but he had gotten something he hadn’t expected: hope. The talk of allies, of allies more powerful than him had given him hope that, perhaps, there was a chance that he would walk out of this game with all of what was important to him held intact.


End file.
